FOCUS QUESTION: CAN HISTORY BE UNDERSTOOD IN IN ONLY ONE WAY?
ACTIVITY 1: ESTABLISHING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE THROUGH DISCUSSION
In the Discussion Forum, respond to the following statement: 'Aborigines have always been treated fairly by the Australian Governments since 1788, always acting in their best interest'. Simply respond as you feel at this beginning point in the study - you may not have a lot of knowledge to draw from, that's OK! This is about establishing your PRIOR KNOWLEDGE - that which you already know, or perhaps want to know.
ACTIVITY 2: OVERVIEW AND FOCUS ON CHRONOLOGY - INDIGENOUS RIGHTS & FREEDOMS
In this activity you will read text, view video and complete a chronological table in order to gauge an general overview of the significant events and ideas relating to this study. You will be prompted at different stages throughout the text to stop, come back to this Class Wiki, and watch short video clips. Remember, all the information (textual, visual or audio) can be used in your chronological table!
Exercise 1. Download this document and complete the CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE in your notes. Be sure to ADD ANY TERMS IN BOLD TO YOUR GLOSSARY too:
Exercise 2. VIDEO CLIP 1: COULDN'T BE FAIRER: Historical footage of Indigenous people in both cultural activity and in the process of being institutionalised in the mission church. LINK TO VIDEO
Exercise 3. VIDEO CLIP 2: BLOOD BROTHERS: The Freedom Rides. LINK TO VIDEO
ACTIVITY 3: CONTESTABLITY IN HISTORY - THE HISTORY WARS
“History isn’t what happened, but a story of what happened. And there are always different versions, different stories, about the same events. One version might revolve mainly around a specific set of facts while another version might minimize them or not include them at all” (JQuery – JSon, 2013).
Much of the study of history involves not facts, but interpretations of facts. Historians examine asmany relevant sources of evi-dence as possible to reach a contention about the past. Nevertheless,historians often disagree about conclusions even when looking at the same evidence: contestability.
Sources themselves may be biased by the viewpoints of their creators, and the politicians and historians who interpret those sources may be biased in turn by their personal ideologies (political and social ideas). Thus, there are often many competing interpretations of events in the past. Can you think of ways in which the information you have studied in Activities 1 and 2 could be interpreted differently? There is rarely, if ever, a 'right' view; but some views are more accurate than others. Learning to contest viewpoints, based on evidence, is a fundamental concept for the study of history.
In this activity you will investigate a continuing public debate in Australia about how to interpret Australian history - the History Wars. The History Wars refers to the interpretation of Australian history since white settlement, particularly with reference to the impact of colonisation on Indigenous Australians. Historians, the media and politicians have debated the interpretation of evidence related to the treatment of Aboriginies, and whether the process of separating families during the Stolen Generations was genocide (adapted from Carrodus et al. 2012, p.42).
Exercise 1. Watch the following tutorial and add the following terms to your glossary: 'denotation'; 'connotation'; 'perspective'; 'contestability':
Exercise 2. Download this document and complete in your notes:
Overview & Introductory Study: THE HISTORY WARS
FOCUS QUESTION: CAN HISTORY BE UNDERSTOOD IN IN ONLY ONE WAY?
ACTIVITY 1: ESTABLISHING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE THROUGH DISCUSSION
In the Discussion Forum, respond to the following statement: 'Aborigines have always been treated fairly by the Australian Governments since 1788, always acting in their best interest'. Simply respond as you feel at this beginning point in the study - you may not have a lot of knowledge to draw from, that's OK! This is about establishing your PRIOR KNOWLEDGE - that which you already know, or perhaps want to know.ACTIVITY 2: OVERVIEW AND FOCUS ON CHRONOLOGY - INDIGENOUS RIGHTS & FREEDOMS
In this activity you will read text, view video and complete a chronological table in order to gauge an general overview of the significant events and ideas relating to this study. You will be prompted at different stages throughout the text to stop, come back to this Class Wiki, and watch short video clips. Remember, all the information (textual, visual or audio) can be used in your chronological table!
Exercise 1. Download this document and complete the CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE in your notes. Be sure to ADD ANY TERMS IN BOLD TO YOUR GLOSSARY too:
Exercise 2. VIDEO CLIP 1: COULDN'T BE FAIRER: Historical footage of Indigenous people in both cultural activity and in the process of being institutionalised in the mission church. LINK TO VIDEO
Exercise 3. VIDEO CLIP 2: BLOOD BROTHERS: The Freedom Rides. LINK TO VIDEO
ACTIVITY 3: CONTESTABLITY IN HISTORY - THE HISTORY WARS
“History isn’t what happened, but a story of what happened. And there are always different versions, different stories, about the same events. One version might revolve mainly around a specific set of facts while another version might minimize them or not include them at all” (JQuery – JSon, 2013).
Much of the study of history involves not facts, but interpretations of facts. Historians examine asmany relevant sources of evi-dence as possible to reach a contention about the past. Nevertheless,historians often disagree about conclusions even when looking at the same evidence: contestability.
Sources themselves may be biased by the viewpoints of their creators, and the politicians and historians who interpret those sources may be biased in turn by their personal ideologies (political and social ideas). Thus, there are often many competing interpretations of events in the past. Can you think of ways in which the information you have studied in Activities 1 and 2 could be interpreted differently? There is rarely, if ever, a 'right' view; but some views are more accurate than others. Learning to contest viewpoints, based on evidence, is a fundamental concept for the study of history.
In this activity you will investigate a continuing public debate in Australia about how to interpret Australian history - the History Wars. The History Wars refers to the interpretation of Australian history since white settlement, particularly with reference to the impact of colonisation on Indigenous Australians. Historians, the media and politicians have debated the interpretation of evidence related to the treatment of Aboriginies, and whether the process of separating families during the Stolen Generations was genocide (adapted from Carrodus et al. 2012, p.42).
Exercise 1. Watch the following tutorial and add the following terms to your glossary: 'denotation'; 'connotation'; 'perspective'; 'contestability':
Exercise 2. Download this document and complete in your notes:
Exercise 3. Q&A Video Clip episode 17 September 2009. PLEASE WATCH FROM 17:45min. to 29:20min. LINK TO VIDEO